Annoia is a salami produced all over the region but especially in the Province of Chieti, resembling a sausage, and made with pork offal (stomach and intestine) aromatized with hot chilli pepper, garlic, fennel seed and
orange peel. It is consumed fresh or can be grilled or cooked in a skillet with white wine. The pork stomach and gut are first cleaned carefully with water and cornflour, then boiled for about two hours. They are then cut into strips and mixed well with salt (20-22g/kg) and spices, which usually vary depending on the production area. Then this mixture is encased in pork intestine and subsequently hung for several days in rooms heated by an open fire.
“Annoia” is not ripened, but is actually consumed a few days after being prepared. This is a typical local artisan charcuterie product, made in rural homes each year, between December and January, the traditional pork
butchering period.
Although salting of meat for its preservation is a very ancient procedure, local charcuterie production is rooted in a consolidated tradition. In fact, with “annoia”, rural folk found a way of using the parts of the pig (stomach, gut) normally thrown away, using laborious and careful preparation to make them unique and typical items, much appreciated by real gourmets.
